5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

I mentioned that the Messenger of Allah  did not marry off his daughters for more than five hundred dirhams. I then raised my voice and said,“Meaning, your daughters, O such-and-such tribe are you more precious than the daughters of the Prophet ?” Upon hearing this, an old man shouted out from a corner, “Why are you speaking about our daughters?” Another rose up and said, “He is speaking badly about our daughters!” Another stood up and said, “Oh! Is he speaking about our daughters?” I was in a situation that no one would like to be in. I was still in the very early stages of Da‘wah, having recently graduated from university. I remained silent and did not move my lips. I smiled as the first one spoke. When the second spoke, I looked at him and also smiled, and the same went for the third. Some of the youths at the far end of the mosque were laughing. Some of them stood up to see what was happening, as if they were saying to me, “The Shaykh’s donkey is stuck behind the barrier!”, an idiom used for a man who falls into a problem and finds it difficult to get out of it. When they saw that I remained calm, they calmed down themselves. Then one of them stood up and said, “People! Allow the Shaykh to explain what he meant!” The people became silent, and I thanked the man for what he did. I then apologised and praised them, as well as their daughters, and explained what I had meant. When you deal with people, in reality you are creating your own personality. You are the one drawing the image that they have of you in their minds. Based on this impression, they decide how to deal with you, and whether to respect you or not. Make sure that the tree is firmly grounded and is not uprooted by the winds, no matter how strong they may be. Just an hour of patience will result in victory. The more intelligent you become, the less ignorant you are. The more your worth increases, the less angry you become. Just like the seas that are not moved by anything. Be like a mountain and no wind will ever shake you! Be a mountain In fact, if ever a person aggravates you in a gathering, or a house, or a satellite TV channel, or a lecture, and you remain calm and not get angry or excited, the people will incline towards you and turn against him. Abu Sufyan bin Harb was coming back to Makkah with a caravan carrying merchandise from Syria. The Muslims found out and marched forth to fight him.Abu Sufyan fled with his caravan and sent a message to Quraysh informing them thereof. Quraysh emerged with a huge army and there took place the battle of Badr between the Muslims and the Quraysh where the Muslims were victorious. Seventy men from the disbelievers were killed and seventy of them were taken captives. The rest of the Quraysh army returned injured and hungry. Abu Sufyan then returned to Makkah only to witness the defeated Qurayshi army. The people of Makkah had suffered a great calamity. Thereupon ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabi’ah, ‘Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl and Safwan bin Umayyah along with some other men of Quraysh who had lost their fathers, sons and brothers at Badr, went to Abu Sufyan and anyone who had a share in his caravan’s merchandise, or those with wealth, and said to them, “O Quraysh! Indeed Muhammad has greatly harmed you and killed the best of you. Aid us with your wealth in our war against him so we may avenge our killed ones.” They agreed and Allah revealed, concerning them, “Those who disbelieve spend their wealth to divert people away from the path of Allah. They will surely spend it, which will then become an agony for them, after which they will be defeated. Those who disbelieved will be resurrected for Hell.” Be a mountain Thus, the Quraysh marched forth, along with the loyal tribes such as Banu Kinanah and the people of Tihamah with all their weaponry, free men and slaves. They brought their women with them, lest the men ran away from the battle. Abu Sufyan went with his wife Hind bint ‘Utbah. ‘Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl went with his wife Umm Hakim bint al-Harith, and al-Harith went with his wife Fatimah bint al-Walid bin al-Mughirah. The disbelieving army came and stopped at the edges of the valley facing Madinah. When the Messenger of Allah  heard of this he consulted his Companions and asked, “What do you think? Shall we stay in Madinah and fight them if they enter the city?” Those of the Muslims who had not participated in Badr said to him, “O Messenger of Allah! We’ll go out to them and fight them at Uhud.” They wished to attain the status that was attained by the people of Badr.